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Last month, Gary Curmode took the helm as chief of Copper Mountain Fire Department.

As one of his first pieces of business, Curmode announced last week the promotion of code compliance officer Daniel Moroz to the position of fire marshal. Moroz’s new position went into effect immediately.

“I’m extremely excited and I think it validates all of the hard work I’ve put into the position,” Moroz said. “One of the big projects I’ll have in my new role is reviewing a lot of the older structures here at Copper and making sure they are fire safe for residents and responding firefighters.”

Moroz arrived in July 2012 at Copper Mountain Fire Department after leaving Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, where he launched his fire service career in 2006, according to a Copper Mountain Fire Department news release. He has a diverse fire code background as a level 2 fire inspector, state-certified fire suppression inspector, EMT-B, and as a fire and life safety educator.

Prior to starting his fire service career, Moroz worked as a ski patroller for 31 years at Copper Mountain Resort. He moved to Colorado in 1975 after earning a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Connecticut.

Moroz’s work motto is “educate, don’t alienate,” the release stated. Using the International Fire Code as an example, which are reviewed and changed at the municipal level about every three to six years, Moroz said his motto is about fostering good working relationships with the public to get projects done.

“If you try to explain the ‘why’ to people, you generally have more success in getting them to comply,” Moroz said. “Coming down on people with a heavy hand doesn’t do anyone any good, so I’ve always tried to approach the public through education and collaboration.”

Prior to the promotion, Moroz served as interim fire chief as the Copper Mountain Consolidated Metropolitan District launched its national search for its new fire chief, a position now held by Curmode.